Relay for Life Bike Run and Block Party on May 2

The 1814 Hockanum Mill is being renovated to become the New England Motorcycle Museum. A Block Party and Bike Run will be held there on Saturday, May 2 from 9 am to 2 pm.

The 1814 Hockanum Mill is being renovated to become the New England Motorcycle Museum. A Block Party and Bike Run will be held there on Saturday, May 2 from 9 am to 2 pm. (Posted by dcrandall, Community Contributor)

Community Contributor dcrandall

On Saturday, May 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the non-profit New England Motorcycle Museum will host an American Cancer Society "Relay for Life" Motorcycle Ride and Block Party at the 1814 Hockanum Mill complex being renovated at 200 West Main Street in the Rockville section of Vernon. Admission to the block party is free. Biker registration is $25 per rider and $15 per passenger. Proceeds will support the American Cancer Society. Rain date is Saturday, May 16.

During this family-friendly block party, the section of West Main Street from Orchard Street to River Street will be closed, turning the street into a showcase of hundreds of motorcycles. The lawn area next to the Hockanum River will feature games, inflatables, merchandise vendors, food vendors, face-painting, balloons, fire truck demos, live music, photo opportunities with Miss Rockville and avid biker attorney John Haymond's models. From 10 to 11 a.m., there will be a Legends & Heroes of Motocross Racing Autograph Session with John "Junkyard Dog" Dowd, Doug Henry, Jo-Jo Keller, and Mike Treadwell. A biker meeting will be held at 11:30, followed by a special Relay for Life ceremony at 11:45 with Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman and other local and state dignitaries sharing encouraging words; the Rev. Don Rivers with Racing With Jesus Ministries blessing the bikers; and developer Ken Kaplan describing the dream behind the New England Motorcycle Museum. At 12 noon, bikers will begin their 24-mile 5 Card Poker Run-style motorcycle ride to Chaplin Kawasaki, where there will be a ticketed barbeque and concert by the tribute band Bon Jersey.

The former Hockanum Mill is a sprawling 240,000 sq. ft. facility. Most of the complex was abandoned and dilapidated until two years ago, when renovation efforts began in earnest. The multi-million-dollar project is expected to take at least two more years to complete. When finished, the complex will be a major tourist attraction and a hotbed of entrepreneurial business activity. This ambitious project, along with renovations of the Roosevelt Mills complex on East Main Street and the Amerbelle Mill on Grove Street, is part of the most vibrant spurt of economic development activity in downtown Rockville in decades. For details, email Ken@NewEnglandMotorcycleMuseum.org or visit the New England Motorcycle Museum page on Facebook.

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